LOVE’S UNENDING LEGACY
(not rated)
MOVIE: ** (out of 5)
DVD EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5)
STARRING
Erin Cottrell as MISSIE LAHAYE
Dale Midkiff as CLARK DAVIS
Victor Browne as SHERIFF ZACH TYLER
Samantha Smith as MARTY DAVIS
Holliston Colemans as BELINDA MARSHALL
Brett Coker as MADDIE LAHAYE
Directed by: Mark Griffiths
Studio: RHI Entertainment
BY KEVIN CARR
Let’s start off by admitting that films like “Love’s Unending Legacy” aren’t really my cup of tea. My wife enjoys them, and my mother-in-law simply adores them, but they just don’t rock my world. If I’m going to watch a western, I prefer something more along the lines of “Silverado.”
As I started the film, watching it with my wife, I mentioned that it looked like your basic Hallmark made-for-TV western. Sure enough, when I looked up the production on the internet later, I learned it originally aired on the Hallmark Channel, and it was the fifth in a series.
For the fifth installment of the series, I will say it was pretty easy to pick up without the history of the other episodes. The film follows a widow named Missie (Erin Cottrell) who is finding a new life after her Sheriff husband was killed in the line of duty. The church in town has started an outreach program and is seeking homes for orphans. Missie takes in a teenage girl but soon learns that she is the sister of another orphan who was taken by an abusive family. Missie uses her faith and friends to help the child out.
The “Love Comes Softly” series has been running on television since 2003 where the character of Missie was started by Katherine Heigl. January Jones played her in the second film, and Cottrell took over for the third installment.
“Love’s Unending Legacy” is different from the dirty, run-down westerns you’ll see at the theaters. Things are a little too new and clean for believability, and the soundtrack shows no mercy. The music runs almost continuously under the action and drama, leaving me to wonder if the film should have been called “Love’s Unending Soundtrack.”
If you like made-for-TV western Christian romances, this is definitely your bag. With a strong “Little House on the Prairie” feel, the movie is pretty thick on the cheese and will cause an overdose in anyone cynical like me. However, I definitely plan on giving the DVD to my mother-in-law this Christmas, and she will love it.